Devices for spreading material



June 15,4 1965 c. vAN DER LELY ETAL 3,189,354

DEVICES FOR SPREADING MATERIA-L Original Filed Oct. 2l, 1959 3Sheets-Sheet 1 INV TORS omveL/:i VAN DER ELV PV VAN as@ EAV June 15,1965c. VAN DER LELY ETAL. 189,354

nEvIcEs Vma srnmrne MATERIAL Original Filed Oct. 21, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet2 INVEN'1?R5 Cokinla VAN aan :Lv

Apr VAN are EL? June 15, 1965 c. VAN DER LELY 15T/lu.` 3,189,354

DEVICES FOR SPREADING MATERIAL OriginalFiled Oct. 2l, 1959 3Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS Cow/vins VAN DEP VE/.v

Wdaw WMM-@ Bddd Patented .lune l5, 1965 3,Iil9,35d DEVICES EUR SPREADINGMATERIAL Cornelis van der Lely, Zug, Switzerland, and Ary van der Lely,Maasland, Netherlands, assignnrs to C. N. V. van der Lely, Maasland,Netherlands, a Dutch limited company of the Netherlands Originalapplication Oct. 2l, 1959, Ser. No. 847,845, now- Fatent No. 3,063,724,dated Nov. I3, i962. Divided and this application Nov. 9, 1962, Ser. No.236,49@

3 Claims. (Cl. TIS-8) This application is a division of Serial No.847,845, tiled October 21, 1959, now Patent No. 3,063,724.

This invention relates to devices for spreading material, comprising aframe and a material spreader mounted on a rotary shaft, a container forsaid material to be spread mounted on said frame, said containercomprising at least one discharge aperture for discharge of materialtherefrom to be supplied to the said spreader. Spreaders of this kindare usually provided with transmission means, such as a gear or belttransmission, to drive the rotary shaft of the spreader.

It is an object of the `invention to provide a device of the kind setforth which is simple in construction. In accordance with the invention,there is provided a device of the kind set forth, wherein said frame hascoupling means to coupe the device to the arms of a power hoist of atractor or like vehicle, the said shaft being provided with connectingmeans to connect the shaft directly to the power take-olf of thetractor.

By thus connecting the rotary shaft of the spreader directly to thepower takeoff of a tractor, no transmission means need be provided inthe device, owing to which the same can be simpler in construction. Fora better understanding of the `invention and to show how the same may becarried into elect, reference will now be made by way of example to theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE l is a rear elevation of a device for spreading granular orpowdery material `in accordance with the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation corresponding to FIG- URE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a side view of the same device,

FIGURE 4 is a part-sectional view taken on the line IV-'IV of FIGURE 1but to an enlarged scale,

FIGURE 5 is a sectional View taken on the line V--V of FIGURE 4,`

FIGURE 6 is a section taken on the line VI--VI of FIGURE 4,

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view of a modified detail of the device shown inFIGURE 4.

Referring tirst to FIGURES l to 6 of the drawings, there is shown adevice for spreading granular or powdery material which includes a framegenerally indicated at I. In a manner which will be explained, the framerigidly supports 4the lower, trough-like, part 3 of a container for thematerial to be spread. The container has an upper part 2 which is maderemovable from the part 3 and which constitutes an extension of the sidewalls of the lower part 3. The illustrated device is intended to bemounted upon the three-point power hoist of a tractor. In FIGURES l, 2and 3 the device is shown resting upon the ground and not mounted on thetractor power hoist. The base of the frame is constituted by a pair ofparallel runners 5 and 6. At the front ends of the runners 5 and 6 thereis a framework (see FIGURE 2) comprising horizontal frame members 7 and8 and upright frame members 9 and Il?. Above the level of theframemember S, the upright frame members 9 and Ii) converge towards oneanother to a location where they are joined by a short frame element Il.Above the frame element lll,

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the frame members 9 and Ill are prolonged by parallel portions I2 andI3, these portions together with the element II constituting a U-shapedbracket. The portions l2 and I3 are formed with holes which are aligned,one of such holes being indicated at I4 in FIGURE 3. The U-shapedbracket is adapted to receive the upper link of the three-point hoist ofa tractor, such link being held in the bracket with the aid of a pin(not shown) which is entered in the aligned holes in the bracket. PinsI5 and lo are arranged to project from the lower parts of the framemembers 9 and lll, these pins being intended to receive the ends of thetwo lower lift links of the tractor power hoist.

At the rear end of the runners 5 and 6, there is a framework consistingof a horizontal frame member 17 (see FIGURE l) and two upwardlyconverging frame members 18 and I9. As can be seen best trom FIGURES 2and 3, the upper ends of the frame members I8 and I9 are secured to theexterior of the fixed container part 3. The front end of the latter hasxedly mounted therein a sleeve 2l, to the exterior of which there issecured an upstanding plate 22. There are two further frame members 23and 24, which are at their lower ends secured to the front side of thecontainer part 3. As will be seen from FIGURE 3, the frame members 23and 24 incline forwardly from their places of attachment to thecontainer part 3, the upper ends of these frame members being joined tothe portions l2 and I3 which constitute the previously described`U-shaped bracket, The plate 22. is entered between the frame members 23and 24 and is fixed thereto. Hence the sleeve 2l is supported in twoplaces along its length.

As previously indicated, the upper part 2 of the container is removablyattached to the lower part 3 thereof. As seen best in FIGURE 4, thefront and rear wa-lls of the upper part 2 extend within thecorresponding walls of the lower container part 3. A bar 25 is securedon the exterior of the front wall of the upper part 2, the bar abuttingagainst the upper edge of the corresponding wall of the lower containerpart 3. The rear wall of the upper part 2 has a recessed strip 26attached thereto, this strip likewise abutting the corresponding upperedge of the wall of the lower part, and moreover engaging over the sideof such edge. It will be `appreciated that the upper part 2 can bewithdrawn from the lower part 3 of the container, simply by lifting theupper part 2 therefrom. To prevent unintentional withdrawal of the uppercontainer part 2, a releasable locking means is provided. Such lockingmeans can be seen in FIGURES 2 and 3 and it will be noted that the framemembers 23 and 24 have a finger 27 secured thereto and extendinglaterally therefrom. A` bracket 28 is iixed to the front wall of theupper container part 2, the bracket having mounted therein a pin 29. Aspring is associated with the pin and tends to urge the same to aposition where it enters a hole formed in the linger Z7. The pin 29 canbe manually displaced against the action of the spring so as to withdrawthe pin from the hole in the iinger 2.7. With the pin in the withdrawnposition, the upper container part can be removed, but so long as thepin is entered in the hole in the inger, such part is locked inposition.

The lower container part 3, `as seen best from FIG- URE 4, is oftrough-like form at its forward end, the mouth of the trough beingdefined by upwardly extending walls which are further upwardly extendedby the upper container part 2. -The part 3 has a rearward cylindricalextension Eil, the axis 3l of which is horizontal and coincident withthe axis of the sleeve 2l. A shaft 322` is mounted for rotation in thesleeve 21, the latter constituting a journal bearing. Tile shaft has axed collar 33 and a removable collar 34 held in position by a pin 35.The forward end 3d of the shaft is adapted for disnsaasa rectlyconnecting to the power takeoff shaft of `a tractor. The rear end of theshaft 3d has a disc 37 secured thereto. The disc 37 is formed with anannular shoulder 37A which fits in the otherwise open mouth of thecylindrical portion 3?. Beyond the shoulder 37A, the disc 37 is ofreduced thickness, and has secured to it a plurality of ejector blades33. Each such blade 3S is made from channel section material. The disc37 is intended tobe turned with the aid of the shaft 32 in the directionindicated by the arrow 39 in FIGURE 1. It will be noted that each of theejector blades is non-radial with respectto the axis 31 so that theouter end or tip of a blade lags behind the inner end or root thereof.The blades are, however, bent forwardly with respect to their intendeddirection of motion. The root ends of all the blades are located so asto sweep over the curved external surface of the cylindrical portion 3h.There are two apertures d@ and dll formed in the portion 3GB (seeFIGURES 4 and 6), the extent of each aperture in a direction axially ofthe shaft 3L being about equal to the width of the ejector blades attheir root ends. A ring 42 is mounted upon the cylindrical portion 3@ soas to be adjustably turnably turnable thereon. The ring carries threecurved shutter plates d3, and d5. These plates extend into the annularcavity between the exterior of the cylindrical portion 30 and the rootends of the series of ejector blades 33. Each of these plates is suchthat it can be brought into register completely with one of theapertures dit or -I whereby the aperture is closed. The relative spacingof the apertures 43, 4d and 45 is such that when the plate d3 closes theaperture d1, then the other aperture d@ is similarly closed by the plate45. When on the other hand the plate 43 closes the aperture dil, thenthe other plate dd closes the aperture 4i. An arm t6 extends from thering i2 and is connected with a hand-lever 47 arranged at the front sideof the container through the intermediary of links and a shaft.

The shaft 32;, in addition to carrying the ejecting device consisting ofthe disc 37 and the ejector blades 38 peripherally mounted thereon,carries three blades 48, 49 and 59 (see FIGURES 4 and 6). The blades arespaced axially along the shaft 32, and the blades 49 and St) are shapedin such a way that when the shaft 32 turns in the intended directionshown by the arrow 39 in FIGURE 6, the material encountered by theseblades is not only stirred but is also urged in directions axially ofthe shaft 32 and towards the apertures 4@ and All. The blade 4S islocated at the region of the apertures 4th and 41 and serves to ensurethat material is discharged through these apertures. As will be apparentfrom FIG- URES 4 and 5, when the shaft 32 turns, the blade 50 willencounter the downwardly depending end SI of a leaf spring 52. Thelatter is clamped to the internal side wall of the upper container part2 by means of a staple 53 fixed to the container portion 2. A set-screwentered in the staple holds the leaf spring 52 in the desired position.The leaf spring has a plate 56 secured thereon, such plate fixedlysupporting the lower ends of a series of elongated fingers 57. From theplate 56 the fingers extend upwardly and divergently within thecontainer, and when the shaft 32 is rotating and the blade t)encountering the end 51 of the leaf spring 52, the fingers move and actas agitators which prevent undesired caking of the material within thecontainer. During the movement of the fingers they contact the innerwall of the container.

As can best be seen from FIGURES 1 and 3, an arcuate bafe plate Sd ismounted on brackets lixed to the upper container part 2. The baffleplate S4 is of a width substantially equal to the width of the tips ofthe blades 38 and is formed with a series of inwardly turned dellectors55.

In the employment of the device described above, the device may bemounted upon the three-point power hoist of a tractor. For this purpose,the pins 15 and 16 are connected to the ends of the two lower lift linksof the power hoist, and the end of the upper link is secured in theU-bracket 12, 13 and 11. The end 36 of the shaft 32 is now directly,i.e. without the intermediary of a transmission such as for example agear transmission, connected to the power take-off shaft of the tractor.The material for spreading is loaded into the container 2 and 3. At thistime the hand-level 47 is in the position where the shutter plates 43and 4S close the apertures fr@ and il in the manner shown in FIGURE 6.The device may be appropriately raised with the tractor hoist and takento the side where it is desired to spread the material held in thecontainer thereof. With the aid of the tractor power take-off shaft, theshaft 32 may now be set in rotation in the direction shown by the arrow3i). The hand-lever d'7 is now moved so as to bring the shutter platesandftd into co-operation respectively with the apertures 4h and 41 insuch a way that the latter are left either wholly uncovered or coveredto a chosen extent. The material in the container can now pass out ofthe cylindrical mouth portion 3&1 via the apertures 45D and d1 thereinwhich constitute gated outlet ports. The root ends of the ejector bladesnow sweep over the outlet ports and receive material therefrom. Underthe action of centrifugal force, the material moves towards the tips ofthe ejector blades and is thrown against and intercepted by the interiorof the arcuate battle 5d. The material is discharged from the end of thebaffle Sfr and from the continuation of the deecting surface thereofconstituted by the deflectors 55. In FIGURE 1 the material being spreadis indicated by a series of radiating lines.

As will be apparent from FIGURE 4, if it is desired to remove theejecting device which includes the blades 3S, this may be simply done byremoving the collar 34 whereupon the shaft 32 can be bodily withdrawntogether with the disc 37. In FIGURE 4 the shaft 32 is carried in thesimple journal bearing constituted by the sleeve 21. If so desired aball bearing mounting can be employed for the shaft 32. Thismodification is illustrated in FIGURE 7.V The sleeve 21 is now replacedby a sleeve 58 which is entered in a cylindrical mouth portion 59 formedin the front wall of the container part 3. A bracket titi supports a pin6I which is urged by a spring 62 through an appropriately positionedhole in the portion 59. The pin can be brought into register andengagement with a hole 63 formed in the sleeve 58. A ball bearing 6d, 65is mounted at either end of the sleeve 5S and carries the shaft 32. Itwill be understood that when the pin 61 is withdrawn against the actionof the spring 62, the shaft 52 may be drawn out in the same way asbefore, but in this case the sleeve 58 will remain upon the shafttogether with the ball bearings.

What we claim is:

ll. A device for spreading material comprising an upper container partfor said material, said upper container part having an opening at itstop for loading material and another opening at its bottom :fordischarge of material, a lower container part, said lower container partreceiving the discharge opening from the bottom of said upper containerpart, a frame, said lower container part being fixed to said frame, arevolvable shaft and a material spreader having ejector blades mountedon one end of said shaft, said shaft extending substantially straightand horizontally through said lower container part to said spreader, abearing being mounted to the said lower part 0f the container to bearsaid shaft, connecting means being provided on said shaft at the otherof its ends to be directly connected to the power take-off of a tractor,said frame having coupling means to couple the device to the arms of apower hoist of a tractor, the lower container part having a sidewardlyextending outlet mouth with at least one discharge aperture for thedischarge of material therefrom to the material spreader and the axis ofsaid mouth coinciding with the axis of said shaft.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the shaft is journalled in abearing and a collar is fixed to said Shaft arranged against one side ofsaid bearing, a removable collar being mounted on said shaft at theother side of Said bearing, said spreader being xed to said shaft andremovable from the device together with said shaft.

3. A device as claimed in claim I, wherein the said shaft is borne in abearing detachably secured to the container, whereby the materialspreader together with the shaft and the bearing can be withdrawn fromthe device.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 554 5/58Cahoon 275--8 571,896 11/96 Clover 111-11 2,550,872 5/51 Shaw 275--8 X2,958,531 11/60 Stokland 275--15 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,495 4/ 26 Australia.

ABRAHAM G. STONE, Primary Examiner.

WILLIAM A. SMITH, III, Examiner..

1. A DEVICE FOR SPREADING MATERIAL COMPRISING AN UPPER CONTAINER PART OF SAID MATERIAL, SAID UPPER CONTAINER PART HAVING AN OPENING AT ITS TOP FOR LOADING MATERIAL AND ANOTHER OPENING AT ITS BOTTOM FOR DISCHARGE OF MATERIAL A LOWER CONTAINER PART, SAID LOWER CONTAINER PART RECEIVING THE DISCHARGE OPENING FROM THE BOTTOM OF SAID UPPER CONTAINER PART, A FRAME, SAID LOWER CONTAINER PART BEING FIXED TO SAID FRAME, A REVOLVABLE SHAFT AND A MATERIAL SPREADER HAVING EJECTOR BLADES MOUNTED ON ONE END OF SAID SHAFT, SAID SHAFT EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY STRAIGHT AND HORIZONTALLY THROUGH SAID LOWER CONTAINER PART TO SAID SPREADER, A BEARING BEING MOUNTED TO THE SAID LOWER PART OF THE CONTAINER TO BEAR SAID SHAFT, CONNECTING MEANS BEING PROVIDED ON SAID SHAFT AT THE OTHER OF ITS ENDS TO BE DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO THE POWER TAKE-OFF OF A TRACTOR, SAID FRAME HAVING COUPLING MEANS TO COUPLE THE DEVICE TO THE ARMS OF A POWER HOIST OF A TRACTOR, THE LOWER CONTAINER PART HAVING A SIDEWARDLY EXTENDING OUTLET MOUTH WITH AT LEAST ONE DISCHARGE APERTURE FOR THE DISCHARGE OF MATERIAL THEREFROM TO THE MATERIAL SPREADER AND THE AXIS OF SAID MOUTH COINCIDING WITH THE AXIS OF SAID SHAFT. 